Sweet in Winter, Sweet in Rain
by ann no aku
Summary: Sirius and Remus are spending the winter holiday at James' house and are extremely bored. What better to do than annoy the school's biggest snob Lily Evans? Chapter Three Christ on Crutches is loaded. Author's Note added, you need not read. Beneficial
1. You Let Me in Through the Back Door

Sweet in Winter, Sweet in Rain

By ann no aku

**General Disclaimer**:  Harry Potter is owned by J.K Rowling.  The opening quote is a portion of the song "Dirty Epic" by Underworld

**Author's Note**:  Takes place during the Christmas holiday of the Marauders sixth year.

**Opening Quote**:  "Sweet in winter sweet in rain.  Shake well before use she said.  
You never touch me anymore this way.  
Connector in.  Receiver out. You let me in through the back door."

**Chapter One**:  You Let Me in Through the Back Door

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          "Your house is so boring, James," Sirius whined while prodding a picture of the Chudley Cannons with his wand as if to encourage the players to move.

          "Would you rather go back home to that loving family of yours?" he retorted, surprised to hear his friend call him by his first name.

          "I know I wouldn't ever fancy visiting," Remus said as he flipped through _The Quibbler.  "Imagine what new nasty things your mother could come up with if she found out about me."_

          "She'd probably want you to bite some Muggles or something," Sirius snapped jabbing his wand so harshly at the poster that the players took cover in a nearby picture.  "What can we do here anyway?"

          "Hm," James sounded fondly ruffling his messy black hair as he always did deep in thought.  "Save finding Snivellus and hexing him?"

          "Can't use magic outside of school," Remus dutifully reminded his friends.

          "Wish I could hex that little bugger," Sirius said mostly to himself.  "We could pretend that it is a full moon."

          "Let's not, shall we?  I am lucky to finally have a Christmas to spend in moderate peace," he curtly replied clutching the page on the government's views on half-breeds.

          "You're no fun."

          "I'm sorry that my idea of 'fun', Padfoot, is trying not to eat my friends."

          "It should be."

          "Enough!" James interrupted.  "Let's be serious here, okay?"

          "I'd rather not," Remus smiled.  "Then I'd have that _adoring mother-"_

          "Better than being a werewolf!"

          "I am going to hex the both of you here in a second if you cannot stop arguing."

          "It's a canine thing, Prongs, you wouldn't understand."

          "I think I'd rather not be something that drools and humps things, okay, Padfoot?"

          "Somebody's testy," Moony teased.  "Are you sure it's not your time of the month, Padfoot?  Maybe you've accidentally been changing into a female dog and"

          "Are you boys behaving?" Mrs. Potter inquired entering James' bedroom with a tray of pumpkin juice and ginger snaps.

          "Of course, Mrs. Potter," Remus answered quickly replacing his occasional mischievous grin with a look of complete innocence.

          "Good," she gave all of them a warning look.  "I'd hate to give the house elves clothes and enlist three healthy young boys to do all the work.  It is still early, barely noon; shouldn't you three be causing trouble outside?"

          "We would be, ma'am, but we haven't a plan," said Sirius after deliberately flashing Mrs. Potter his best smile that he usually saved to cause the girls at school to melt.

          "Where's Peter?  Maybe you should visit him.  He's such a sweet boy," continued James' mother whom he resembled perfectly save the mouth (her smile wasn't lopsided like his was).  "Never hear of _him getting into trouble, do we?" she asked shoving a goblet into her son's hands roughly so that it almost spilled on his robes._

          "That's a good idea," James conceded an evil glare in his hazel eyes.  He shot up quickly almost knocking the tray from his mother's hold.

          "I expect you home for supper—all of you."  She stared at Remus suspiciously as if asking him to tell her James' true intentions.  "That means be back by six o'clock."

          "Well, since we'll be at Peter's house and we have not seen him for days"

          "I have not had his mother's cooking in a while, I almost miss it," Remus hastily added.

          "Fine then!" she gave, "Eight, and not a second later, James!  I am not going to send Morgana to peck after you again!"  Mrs. Potter left so abruptly that the door automatically slammed shut behind her scaring the posters in her wake.

          "I really don't want to visit Wormtail," Sirius informed.  "He's like a child with an overactive bladder."

          "We're not visiting him, never said.  I just agreed that visiting someone is a good idea."

          "Yeah, _Wormtail," he rolled his eyes._

          "Nope," James answered the deadly shine in his eyes becoming brighter, "We are going to drop in on Lily."


	2. Ride the Sainted Rhythms on the Midnight...

Sweet in Winter, Sweet in Rain

By ann no aku

**General Disclaimer**:  Harry Potter is owned by J.K Rowling.  The opening quote is a portion of the song "Dirty Epic" by Underworld

**Author's Note**:  Takes place during the Christmas holiday of the Marauders sixth year.  And a special thanks to all of my loyal reviewers (save Nik, she's evil!)  Also, with exams on the way, I may to only be able to update once a week.  Thanks again!!

**Opening Quote**:  "Ride the sainted rhythms on the midnight train to Romford.  
Ride the sainted rhythms.  
Sweet in winter, sweet in rain.  Shake well before use she said.  
You never touch me anymore this way.  Oh no.  
Connector connector connector connector.  
You're a connector connector connector connector."

**Chapter Two**:  Ride the Sainted Rhythms on the Midnight Train to Romford

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          "This has to be the dumbest thing you have ever come up with, Prongs!" Sirius hissed as the three of them exited the Potter's house.  "I hate not being able to see you."

          "Well, somebody has to pay fare on the Knight bus, and you lost," James prompted as he tugged the cloak tighter over him and Remus.

          "This is not fair.  We are going to visit your stupid Muggle born obsession, and I have to pay fare?"

          "Come on, Padfoot, stick out your wand and signal the Knight bus," Remus commanded trying to stop himself from laughing.

          "I cannot believe the two of you," he grumbled as his wand tip lit up.  "How do you even know where she lives anyway?"

          "Sh, the bus is here," James ordered not wanting to answer the question.

          "Just one, eh?" the old man standing in the doorway asked.

          "Yeah," he replied shuffling through his pockets for some sickles.

          "Three sickles, then.  Hurry up, boy; this bus has places to go.  Where you headed?"

          "Er," Sirius paused.

          "Well?"

          "Magnolia Drive," James whispered.

          "What was that?" the man demanded sounding irritated.

          "Magnolia Drive," Sirius echoed.

          "Visiting a Muggle, eh?"

          "Something like that," he grumbled as he entered the bus.  There were half a dozen tables with two to three chairs each.  He figured that it must be lunchtime for the other riders.  Sirius sat down at a table with three seats and wished that he didn't have to look like he was all alone.  He watched in mild interest as the chairs slid across the floor and banged into each other creating a lot of noise.  Sirius began to wonder if the driver or the door hop would notice that two chairs accompanying him were not moving and very close together.  Then, he decided that he did not care.  The fact that he was on his way to some stupid Muggle's house had him annoyed enough as it was.

          "Magnolia Drive is next!" the driver announced after a house jumped clearly out of the bus's way.

          "Great," Sirius mumbled to himself wishing that he could talk to his friends.  Never before had he been the one left out.  It had always been Pettigrew looking awkward in the group.  Not that he didn't like Pettigrew, okay, so he didn't, but the little rat deserved it at times.  He seemed to play the field between him and his friends, and that stupid git Snape.

          Being so lost in his thoughts, Sirius hardly noticed that the bus had stopped and had to be nudged by an invisible James.  He wanted to turn around and snarl at him for stabbing him so hard in the shoulder with his wand.  He did not know which house belonged to the Muggleborn, so just listened to the whispered directions from James.  "I think it's this one!"

          "How do you know anyway?" he demanded trying to look as though he was not talking to himself as his shoes crunched in the snow up the driveway.

          "Well, all those time's in Filch's office sure came of some use."

          "Besides the map, you mean," Lupin corrected.

          "Yeah," he agreed not sounding as enthused.

          "What do I do?  Knock on the door?"  Sirius started hating the idea of visiting Lily more and more as the seconds ticked by.  He approached the large wooden door and rapped on it twice silently hoping there'd be no answer.

          "Eh, good afternoon!" Mr. Evans came to the door looking almost as uneasy as Sirius felt.  He eyed his odd attire and took note of his robes.  "Friend of Lily's, I presume?"

          "Yeah, is she in?" he asked trying not to sound so uncomfortable.

          "Yes, come on in."  He opened the door widely, but not wide enough to fit the two hidden boys beneath the cloak.  They slipped quietly through the crack and waited in the parlor.  "Lily, someone from your school is here to see you!" Mr. Evans called from the bottom of the stairs.  "Wait just right here, I reckon she'll be down in a minute."

          "Thanks."

          As Mr. Evans slipped back into the den, James and Remus slid the invisibility cloak off of themselves and waited anxiously for Lily to come down the stairs.

This is the end of Chapter Two!  I hope that you enjoyed!  I am sorry that it is so short!  Have a good Thanksgiving!

~ann no aku


	3. Christ on Crutches

Sweet in Winter, Sweet in Rain

By ann no aku

**General Disclaimer**:  Harry Potter is owned by J.K Rowling.  The opening quote is a portion of the song "Dirty Epic" by Underworld

**Author's Note**:  The question of the invisibility cloak shall be revealed!  *insert dramatic music here*

**Opening Quote**:  "I'm so dirty, and the light blinds my eyes.  
You're oh so dirty, and the light it blinds my eyes.  
Here comes Christ on crutches."

**Chapter Three**:  Christ on Crutches

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As Mr. Evans slipped back into the den, James and Remus slid the invisibility cloak off of themselves and waited anxiously for Lily to come down the stairs.

          Except that she did not emerge from down the stairs.  She came right around the corner after witnessing Remus and James de-cloak.  "You might've still wanted to wear that in case Father sees you, Potter," she said folding her arms neatly over her chest.

          "Nice to see you, too, Evans," he retorted trying to conceal the scowl on his face.  He had been hoping to use the invisibility cloak as a prank for her later on, too.

          "Sirius, Remus," she continued looking at each one while saying their names.  But neither looked at her, both stared at James as if waiting for him to explain what he had done to make him unwelcome in Lily's home.

          "I'll tell you later," he started.

          "Why don't I get my sister Petunia down to tell the story?  I bet she still remembers."

          "How could I forget?" she asked coming down to the parlor swinging what looked like a pair of deadly blades attached to some odd sort of shoes.  "Coming, Lily?  You promised to go with me today."  She sneered at the band of boys standing in her way.

          "Go?  Go where?  We came to visit!  That's not very nice to guests, you know," James countered ignoring the stare from Petunia.

          "Great," Sirius mumbled incoherently under his breath.

          "You-are-not-invited!" Lily hissed all in one breath.  "What are you doing here, anyway?"

          "You can't honestly shove us back outside in that snow, now can you, Lily?" Remus questioned attempting not to look as guilty as he felt.  Even in his voice hung the pity he felt for the girl.

          "I don't care!  I did not invite any of you here, especially you, Potter!"  Even though she looked very angry, especially in her fiery green eyes, she still could not (in good consciousness) make them walk all the way back in the snow (mainly because they were in nothing but their winter robes with no hat or gloves).  "Besides, I promised Petunia that I'd go ice skating with her this afternoon."

          "Good, then we'll go ice _skatting_, too."

          "Skating," she corrected.

          "I said that-ice _skatting."_

          "Argh!"  She tossed her hands up in the air and walked over to the hall closet tugging out her winter gear.  Hats, gloves, and scarves flew behind her into a nasty pile.  All the while, she cursed them and muttered insults so that they could not hear her.  On occasion, words such as "stupid", "fool", or "what the hell as he thinking" could be overheard through her shifting of the clothes.

          Petunia, on the other hand, did not look the least bit pleased that her sister had given in so easily to the strange boys.  A sour expression took over her face as though she had sucked on a lemon all afternoon.  She traced a long slender finger on the blade of her shoe, her gaze following the strange boys whom looked very out of place in her _neat_ home.  "I do not want them to come," she growled approaching her sister at an amazing speed.

          "Petunia, it'd be inhuman to make them walk back in the snow."

          "Oh, don't be naïve!  Do you honestly believe that they walked here in the snow?  They're . .those _weird_ things!"

          "Wizards, Petunia, they're called wizards," Lily sighed.

          "I don't care what they are!  They do not belong here, and I will not have them ruining my afternoon!!!"

          "Fine."

          "Fine?  That's all you have to say?!"  She held her hands on her hips allowing her ice skates to dangle dangerously at her side.  "After what he did last summer?!  I can't believe you!"  Her frown could barely conceal her horse like teeth.

          "Yes."

          "How can you just give in to his antics?  You know this is some stupid game he's playing with you!"

          "Because I am better than them, and I am not going to give in to Potter by giving in to him."  She turned around to face her sister, her green eyes matching her sister's.  

          "That makes no sense!  You _are_ giving in to him by allowing him to come with us!  Or does your school not teach you simple things like that to understand?"

          "What do you reckon they are arguing about?" Sirius asked while ruffling his hair.

          "What do you think, Padfoot?" James snarled.

          "Here are the rules, Potter," Lily announced after emerging from her nest in the closet looking, if at all possible, even more upset than before.  "If any of you, _any_, so much as breathe incorrectly, I am going to take my ice skate and cut off the only thing you'd be missing that resembles a wand!  Is that clear?"

          "Is it that time of the month, Evans?" Sirius inquired.  "You seem awfully more testy than usual."

          "You are lucky my wand is in my room, Black," she threatened her face turning a frightening shade of red that almost matched her hair.  "You three can rent skates; I hope you have money."  Despite the fact that she was a little more than annoyed that Potter and his friends have decided to drop in, she was also a little happy about it, too.  No one from Hogwarts had ever come to visit before, and her friends from school hardly ever wrote her.  It was a nice surprise, even if it was from James.

          "I can't believe this," Petunia angrily grumbled and crossed her arms in the same manner as her sister had done earlier.

          "Unless they take sickles, we'll be bored, now won't we?" Sirius challenged, his voice dangerously dripping with sarcasm.

          "Everything going well?" Mr. Evans inquired, poking into the hallway and staring curiously at the black haired boy.  "Don't I know you?"

          "Lily has invited," Petunia began hoping to force the boys home.

          "We are just going ice skating," Lily finished.

          "Be back before supper, okay, Love?"  He slipped back into the den once more, but not without giving James another glare.

          Lily tossed her skates over her shoulder roughly so that anyone near her could have had an eye or two poked out.  "You three are lucky I am not making you walk home in that snow.  Frankly, I don't even see how you got here anyway."  She ignored the incredulous looks from her schoolmates and practically shoved them out of her house as they made way to the frozen pond.

          Lastly, even though Petunia did not want the boys to come, she could not help but to think that Sirius was, at the most of course, a twinge attractive.  It was not as though she fancied the boy, never!  She just thought he possessed maybe one (or several) qualities that she made someone attractive.  Maybe the outing wouldn't be so bad, if they were not there, that is.

End of chapter three!  Please leave reviews . .tee hee

~ann no aku

Also, there is a corresponding picture to this story on my website.  Here is the link!  It is not that good, and takes a while to load (the scan is awfully large), but I just could not resist!  The whole story was based upon this picture I drew one day while at work.


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